Sunday, December 30, 2012

Great West Road, London

Standing out again

By the early-1930s, a new generation of industry was establishing itself around the edges of Britain's towns and cities. This wasn't the heavy industry that had probably first come to mind when people thought of manufacturing in the 19th century. This was modern, light industry and it was producing all kinds of things – domestic appliances, personal-grooming products, and items connected with the growing car industry. I've posted before about some of the 1930s factories that survive along the main roads of West London – especially Western Avenue and the Great West Road.

These buildings have gleaming white Art Deco fronts (containing offices, mostly) with larger, plainer, but well-lit workshops or warehouses behind. The fronts acted as advertisements, presenting a modern image on behalf of the owners and their companies. This example on the Great West Road began as the Coty cosmetics factory. Its white walls and strip windows speak of cleanliness and the latest decorative fashion of 1932. The building lacks the brightly coloured flourishes that appear on many Art Deco factories, but there are several telling details that show the architects, Wallis Gilbert and Partners, balancing decorative touches – their design is basically about setting up a rhythm of straight lines (windows, glazing bars, uprights) and then introducing just enough curves, steps, and diagonals to play variations on the grid. The stepped profile of the top of the facade and the detailing (both curves and verticals) around the entrance are key decorative elements. The way the glazing goes all the way up to the corners and the little angled detail on the lower edge of the corner windows is another telling touch.

It's interesting that this kind of building, now surrounded by office blocks of the 1980s and 1990s in various, mostly postmodern, styles (with much mirror glazing and colourful cladding), now looks almost restrained. Apparently cared for and well used, these buildings of the 1930s have found a new way to stand out.

8 comments:

I drove past this on my way back from the West Country after the Christmas break. I was in a flow of traffic,and couldn't hang around,but it still hit me visually. When I saw it,I thought:1930's cinema,which is probably wide of the mark. I don't know a great deal about architecture,but I know what I like,and I certainly liked this.

The white walls and strip windows of the old Coty factory do indeed speak of 1930s modernity and sleek lines. And now the building is a medical clinic, the cleanliness aspect becomes even more important.

But I think the Syon Clinic looks smart and restrained in its own right, not just in comparison to horrible office blocks of the 1980s and 1990s.

Hels: I agree, it does look good in its own right too. I should perhaps have taken a photograph of the building in the context of the more recent blocks nearby, which would have given people an idea of the difference in quality - but I didn't, maybe because I just don't like most of these structures and I prefer to take pictures of what I like!

Grew up in Boston Manor, my mother went to school in the big house in the park and used to work for Gillettes. Now we are all living in Cornwall felt rather homesick seeing the photos of these beautiful & familiar buildings and almost miss my old commute to Ham via Kew and the flyover and definitely miss the lucozade ad. & christmas trees - did they use to be on the Glaxo building ?

Flat Stanley: Thank you for these memories. The Gillette factory is huge and the tower is still a great local landmark, isn't it? As for the Lucozade sign, that's a landmark too. The original sign, taken down about 8 years ago, went into the Gunnersbury Park Museum I think. But didn't they put up a replica a couple of years ago? I hope it's still there, visible from the flyover. I've not seen it for a while, as I usually come into London on the M40 rather than the M4.

It was still there last January when I went over to the public records office but in just a few years it has been joined by huge advertizing illuminated billboards I became rather nervous of being distracted by these giants and driving off the flyover and falling onto granddads house.

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About Me

I'm the author of The English Buildings Book, England's Abbeys, Restoration, the book of Adam Hart-Davis's series What the Romans Did For Us, other books about architecture and buildings, and various books on other subjects, including Dorling Kindersley's handbooks on Mythology (written with Neil Philip) and Religions. IN THIS BLOG I share my encounters with some of my favourite English buildings, including many that are little known and that get short shrift in the architectural history books. Look here for accounts of breweries, prefabs, power stations, corrugated-iron barns and the occasional parish church as I share my meetings with England's remarkable buildings. IN THIS COLUMN, JUST BELOW HERE, are links to more information about me, my books, and the courses and talks I give. A LITTLE FURTHER DOWN are some links to a series of brief articles that make up a very brief history of English architecture.

MORE ABOUT PHILIP WILKINSON

ABOUT ENGLISH ARCHITECTURE

The English Buildings Book

Published by English Heritage, The English Buildings Book, by Philip Wilkinson and Peter Ashley, covers everything from parish churches to castles, town halls to market halls, barns to bars. Now out in paperback.

Great Buildings

Also written by Philip Wilkinson, Great Buildings is a spectacular overview of fifty of the world's architectural masterpieces – each one a shining example of its type or style – that gives readers the chance to 'get under the bricks and mortar'. Each building is shown in numerous pictures, to create the impression of a series of guided tours.

GREAT DESIGNS

One more of my books. A survey of the history of design through 100 objects, from the Swiss Army knife to the Citroen DS, the Thonet bentwood chair to the Anglepoise lamp, Great Designs showcases the work of such diverse designers as William Morris and Phillippe Starck.